U S Space & Rocket Center
Huntsville
Alabama
November 2013
Representatives of the Creek tribe are setting up to perform right here in the Main Exhibit Center at the U S Space & Rocket Center, showing off primitive skills and dance, and explaining their Southeastern Native American heritage. A bit of disjointed cultures. Rockets are not primitive.
The early ancestors of the Muscogee constructed magnificent earthen pyramids on their riversides, part of elaborate ceremonial activities. My favorite aspects of this culture though, are the myths. Behold some of the fabled characters…
Lodge Boy and Bad Boy
troublemaking twins, born when their pregnant mother was killed by a monster
Kolowa
a hairy, man-eating ogre
Isti Papa
a giant cannibal, maybe a giant bear, elephant or big cat
So far, these could be my students. Or people we run into on the trail.
Tie-Snakes
water spirits, the size and shape of an ordinary snake but with immense strength; when in the mood, they would catch humans and drag them underwater to drown
Chufi
Rabbit, the trickster
Here are two stories. Remember, these are the days when the Earth, and all upon it, were trying to figure things out.
How Rabbit Brought Fire to the People
According to Creek legend, we poor humans were cold in the old days because we had no fire. In fact, the only ones who had fire were the Weasels and they guarded their fire zealously, viciously.
The People suffered gravely in the winter cold. They called a council meeting to try to find some way to get the Weasels’ fire, or better, to find a way to get someone else to get them some fire. Most of the animals were unwilling to confront the bloodthirsty Weasels, a clan reputed to eat mice and moles and fish and birds.
Rising above his fear, Rabbit volunteered. Of all the animals, Rabbit had a rep for being an excellent dancer. So he covered his head with pine tar and swam across the water to the Weasels’ camp and joined in on the Weasels’ dancing circle. Closer and closer Rabbit came to the fire until he dipped his head down into the flames, catching fire to the pine tar. Then he quickly hopped off, too fast for Weasel to catch him. He jumped in the water and swam back to the People, holding his blazing head above the water, to share the fire. What a sight!
Chagrined, the Weasels beseeched the Thunderbirds, who originally gave them fire, to make it rain, to extinguish the fire stolen by Rabbit. It poured for three days but clever Rabbit had built a fire in a hollow tree, protecting it from the rain. On the fourth day, when the sun shone, Rabbit gave fire to the People.
How Day and Night Were Divided
The animals held a meeting concerning how to divide day and night. No-koos-see, the Bear, presided. Some of the animals desired the day to last for all time; others preferred all night, all the time.
After lots of debate, Chew-thlock-chew, the Ground Squirrel, said, “Look at Woot-Kew, the Coon, who has rings on his tail divided equally, first a dark color then a light color. Day and night should be divided like the rings on Woot-Kew’s tail.”
[[Coon 75.jpg]]
The animals praised the wisdom of Chew-thlock-chew and adopted his plan. They divided day and night in the manner of the rings on Woot-Kew’s tail: day-night-day-night.
No-koos-see scratched Chew-thlock-chew’s back and thus created the stripes on the backs of all Chew-thlock-chew’s descendants.
What follows is not a myth. At the U S Space & Rocket Center, I meet this painted man. He is here to present Native heritage. I ask him why he is holding the top half of a bear. He tells me that it is part of his demonstration. I think the bear bottom is in the bed of his truck. Turns out that, in fact, at no time is the division of the top of the bear, and the bottom of the bear, part of the ceremony.
